Slot Machine Hold vs. RTP: What's the Difference?

Hold percentage and RTP are two sides of the same coin — literally. Hold is what the casino keeps; RTP is what the player gets back. They always sum to 100%. Casinos think in hold; AP players think in RTP. Understanding both perspectives — and how state gaming commission hold data translates to floor-level RTP — gives AP players a market-level view of which properties run tighter or looser floors before ever walking through the door.

Hold vs. RTP: The Math

RTP + Hold = 100% — always, by definition
94% RTP machine = 6% hold = casino keeps $6 per $100 wagered (long run average)
88% RTP machine = 12% hold = casino keeps $12 per $100 wagered
Casinos use hold — revenue percentage; internal reporting metric
AP players use RTP — return percentage; expected value calculation basis
State gaming commissions publish average hold by denomination — converts to RTP for floor comparison

Using Public Hold Data: Nevada Gaming Control Board publishes monthly hold reports by denomination and by area (Strip, Downtown, locals). A Strip casino with 9.5% average penny hold (90.5% RTP average) vs. a locals casino with 7.2% average penny hold (92.8% RTP average) — that's a 2.3 percentage point RTP difference. At $0.50/spin × 600 spins/hour, that's $6.90/hour less expected loss at the locals casino. Public hold data is the best free tool for identifying which properties run above-average RTP floors at a market level.

Practical AP Applications

Use state gaming commission hold reports to identify loose vs. tight casino floors before visiting
Nevada, NJ, MS hold data is public — tribal states typically do not publish hold data
Higher denomination = lower hold = higher RTP — use this when selecting machines for free play deployment
Individual machine RTP from machine guides is more precise than floor-average hold data
Hold does not change based on your play — no betting system affects the programmed hold percentage

SlotStrat Members

Access all 150+ machine guides with per-machine RTP — more precise than floor-average hold data, giving exact expected return for each session decision.

View Membership Options

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between hold percentage and RTP?

Hold percentage (house edge) and RTP (Return to Player) are two ways of expressing the same relationship from opposite perspectives. RTP = the percentage of all wagers returned to players as winnings over the long run. Hold = the percentage of all wagers retained by the casino. The relationship: RTP + hold = 100%. A machine with 94% RTP has 6% hold. A machine with 92% RTP has 8% hold. Casinos use hold percentage because it represents their revenue per dollar wagered. Players use RTP because it represents what they get back. Both describe the same mathematical reality — the terminology difference is purely perspective.

Why do casinos report hold instead of RTP?

Casinos use hold percentage in internal reporting because it directly corresponds to revenue. A casino's slot floor with 8% average hold on $10 million in monthly coin-in generates $800,000 in gross gaming revenue. Regulatory filings and investor reports use hold percentage as the primary metric. State gaming commissions publish average hold percentages by denomination in annual gaming reports — this is why state-level hold data is publicly available. Players, conversely, use RTP because it represents their perspective: what percentage of their wagers they can expect to get back. The AP community uses RTP almost exclusively; the casino industry uses hold almost exclusively. Both are correct for their intended audience.

How do state gaming reports help AP players find higher-RTP machines?

Many state gaming commissions publish annual reports showing average hold percentages by denomination and by property. These reports allow comparisons: Casino A may have 8.2% average hold on penny machines (91.8% RTP) while Casino B has 6.5% hold (93.5% RTP) on the same denomination — a 1.7 percentage point RTP difference. This state data is aggregate, not per-machine, but gives AP players directional guidance on which properties run tighter or looser floors. States with public hold data include Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, and others. Tribal casino hold data is not publicly reported in most states (tribal gaming regulators are separate from state commissions).

What is the typical hold percentage range for slot machines?

Typical hold percentage ranges: Penny machines: 8-15% hold (85-92% RTP) — highest hold on the floor; Quarter machines: 5-10% hold (90-95% RTP); Dollar machines: 3-7% hold (93-97% RTP); Five-dollar machines: 2-5% hold (95-98% RTP); High-limit ($25+): 1-3% hold (97-99% RTP). Nevada state averages by denomination from gaming control board reports: penny averaging ~9-10% hold; dollar averaging ~4-5% hold. Individual machines within a denomination vary around these averages based on PAR sheet configuration ordered by the casino operator.

Does a machine's hold percentage change based on how you play?

No — the hold percentage is programmed into the machine's PAR sheet and does not change based on player behavior, bet size (within the same denomination), time of day, jackpot history, or any other player-controlled variable. Each spin is independent; the RNG produces outcomes with fixed underlying probabilities regardless of history. The hold percentage is a long-run statistical property of the machine's configuration, not a dynamic variable that responds to player decisions. However, bet size does affect absolute expected loss (higher bet × same hold % = higher expected loss per spin), and denomination changes do affect hold percentage because different denominations use different PAR sheets with different programmed hold percentages.